Cake For A Change

 

I was too busy preparing and hosting on Thanksgiving to remember to photograph our table, our guests, and even what we cooked and baked.  

I wanted to finish in the kitchen, go out for a walk with Harry and Charlie, and their out-of-town visitor, Dolly, and then sit down for a while by the fire before gathering for our dinner. 

In addition to my apple pie, this year I thought a cake might be a nice addition.  Most everyone made the traditional selection of pie, so we ate pumpkin gingerbread cake all weekend.  I finished the last piece this morning.  I've shared other recipes from Gingerbread here before, and this one was as wonderful as the others.  The pumpkin cuts the intensity of the spice a bit, yet the overall flavor is definitely of gingerbread.

Pumpkin-Gingerbread Cake

adapted from Gingerbread

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark molasses

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups pumpkin puree (1 can of puree is 2 cups, so I added 1/4 cup of homemade rhubarb butter, or you could use apple butter or apple sauce)

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl.

Put the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until smooth.  Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat until light and fluffy.  Pour in molasses and beat until smooth.  Drop in eggs, one at a time, and beat for about 2 minutes, stopping at least once to scrape the sides of the bowl.  Add the vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, mixing until combined.  Reduce the mixing speed to medium-low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until the cake is dark chestnut brown in color, the top is cracked, and a wooden skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.  Set the cake on a wire rack to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Dust with confectioner's sugar.